QUEBEC, CANADA – British No. 3 Naomi Broady lost her opener in the WTA International Quebec City tournament after a promising start.

Oceane Dodin defeats Naomi Broady [5] 2-6 6-4 6-4

Great Britain’s Broady lost a close three set match against the hard-hitter Dodin in three sets on Tuesday in Quebec. Broady was the favourite heading into the match. The Brit has lived the life of a regular WTA player for the best part of a year while Dodin has found most of his brief success on the ITF circuit.

The Frenchwoman was coming off a title win on the Spanish clay courts, which is extremely different to the high tempo indoor carpet surface in Canada this week. Broady had the advantage of playing the semi-finals of the Quebec tournament this time last year, but she struggled enormously with the heavy-hitting coming from the other side of the net.

Broady had not dropped a first serve point in the first set and she rightfully took the set 6-2, but Dodin showed some signs of life in the second set. Dodin started finding her range with some impressive power on her forehand and consistently found her targets with a ferocious serve. It felt like the court enabled both players to serve very well, but it was the suspect footwork from Broady that decided this match, especially when Dodin was dictating play in the third set.

Dodin, who is renowned for her inconsistency in results, showed the upside to her tennis when she puts it all together. Despite the unquestionable inexperience she has at this level, she kept her cool in the closing stages in serving out her first main draw win at regular WTA events.

This loss will hurt for Broady. She made the semi-finals as a lucky loser last year, so she will feel that she grew accustomed to the conditions. The British player will slump to No.84 in the rankings next week with the points from last year coming off.

No-one can take this memorable win away from Dodin. She has spent a long time competing in WTA qualifying draws, which can be extremely difficult to find some kind of momentum. A rare Top 100 win like this will give Dodin the motivation and belief to achieve more as she finds herself in the second round of a WTA for the first time in 2016.

Broady has a few tournaments in Asia to look towards as she aims to solidify her ranking and maintain her place in the main draws of Grand Slam events in 2017.